TheErblande ("Hereditary Lands") of theHouse of Habsburg formed theAlpine heartland of theHabsburg monarchy.[1] They were the hereditary possessions of the Habsburgs within theHoly Roman Empire from before 1526. TheErblande were not all unified under the head of the dynasty prior to the 17th century. They were divided into several groupings: theArchduchy of Austria,Inner Austria, theCounty of Tyrol, andFurther Austria.[2]
TheErblande did not include either theLands of the Bohemian Crown or theLands of the Hungarian Crown, since both monarchies were elective when the HabsburgFerdinand I was elected to their thrones in 1526. Ferdinand divided theErblande between his three heirs in 1564 and they were not reunited until 1665.[2] TheErblande were gathered into theAustrian Circle in 1512. This ensured a direct connection between the junior lines of the Austrian Habsburgs and the Empire after 1564, since throughout this period the Austrian Habsburgs exercised only one vote in theCouncil of Princes.[3]
Both the Bohemian and Hungarian nobilities lost their rights of royal election through defeat in battle. Following his victory in theSchmalkaldic War in 1547, Ferdinand I extracted recognition from theBohemian Diet that the royal succession would be hereditary. This recognition proved ineffective.[4] It was only following theBattle of White Mountain (1620), a victory over Bohemian rebels during theThirty Years' War, thatFerdinand II promulgated aRenewed Land Ordinance [de] (1627/1628) that definitively established hereditary succession. In his will and testament of 1621, Ferdinand II tried to establish the principle of primogeniture to ensure that theErblande would not be divided again as in 1564. Following theBattle of Mohács (1687), in whichLeopold I reconquered almost all of Hungary from theOttoman Turks, the emperor held adiet in Pressburg to establish hereditary succession in the Hungarian kingdom.[5] Although the termErblande was often extended to include Bohemia (which lay within the Holy Roman Empire) after 1627, it was never used to describe Hungary, even after 1687.[6]